HC Deb 19 November 2003 vol 413 cc910-3W
Norman Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she has secured from the US authorities undertakings that the ships from the US Naval Reserve due to be stored at Hartlepool will(a) remain the responsibility of the US authorities and (b) be returned to the United States. [139206]

Mr. Morley

[holding answer 17 November 2003]: The legal responsibility of the ships will remain with the contractors: the US Marine Administration and Able UK. Able UK hold the Waste Management Licence for the site where the ships will be stored, pending a decision on their future.

If dismantling cannot be completed consistent with international rules and Community Law, the law requires that the ships be returned to the US, unless the waste can be recovered in an alternative, environmentally sound manner.

Norman Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what requirements the Environment Agency has put in place to prevent environmental damage arising from the storage at Hartlepool of ships from the US Naval Reserve. [139208]

Mr. Morley

[holding answer 17 November 2003]: On 12 November, the Environment Agency used its emergency powers under section 43(4) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to modify Able UK's existing waste management licence to include conditions which:

  1. Impose restrictions so that ships cannot be dismantled, decommissioned, cut or broken at the Able facility.
  2. Require the installation of floating booms across the dock entrance and around waste vessels that are berthed in the dock. The booms must be inspected daily, and should oil be identified within the boomed area, it must be removed within two hours.
  3. Require that no removal of bilge or ballast water from waste ships shall take place except in accordance with a method statement submitted to and approved in writing by the Agency.
  4. While waste ships are in the dock, sampling of the dock water and estuary water upstream and downstream of the dock must take place weekly. Results must be submitted to Agency within four weeks. In the event that any results exceed specified trigger levels, the Agency must be notified within 24 hours.

In addition to these conditions imposed on Able UK, the Agency will carry out its own unannounced site inspections—initially at a weekly frequency. The Agency will carry out its own environmental monitoring, as well as auditing the monitoring carried out by Able UK.

Norman Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on who will bear the cost of storage, including any inspection and basic safety measures necessary, of ships from the US Naval Reserve at Hartlepool. [139209]

Mr. Morley

[holding answer 17 November 2003]: It is the Waste Management Licence holder's responsibility to comply with the conditions of a Waste Management Licence at their expense. The modification to the conditions of Able UK's Waste Management Licence now requires them, in effect, not to undertake any dismantling of the ships or other works, save for pollution control measures.

The Environment Agency will conduct such inspections as it considers necessary to ensure compliance with the conditions of the licence. The costs of these are recovered through subsistence charges.

Any costs from the safety inspection would be borne by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

Norman Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what factors underlay her press statement of 7 November that immediate return of the ships sent for disposal to Able UK at Hartlepool would be impractical. [139211]

Mr. Morley

[holding answer 17 November 2003]: The immediate return of the ships is impractical primarily due to the prevailing weather conditions in the Atlantic over the winter. In the interests of safeguarding human health and the environment, it has been agreed that the ships should be stored temporarily at Hartlepool, pending a decision on their future.

Norman Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on her recent discussions with the US Transportation Secretary on the fleet of ships en route from the USA to Hartlepool. [139212]

Mr. Morley

My Department issued a statement on 15 November following discussions between US and UK authorities, the text of which is reproduced below.Following exploration of alternative options, the Government has agreed with the US authorities that the third and fourth US ships currently on their way to the UK, should continue their passage to Hartlepool, where they will be securely stored pending a decision on their future. As with the first two ships, the Environment Agency will place requirements on them to ensure the environment is fully protected and the ships remain ready for return to the United States. We explained last week that we were working closely with the United States authorities to examine the practicability of the return of the third and fourth ships to the United States. We have now reached a shared view that it would be imprudent for these ships to attempt a return crossing at this time of year; and that there is no other suitable storage site available. Hartlepool therefore best meets our objectives of safety and environmental protection. The US authorities accept that the four ships will have to return to the United States next Spring, unless environmentally suitable and legally acceptable methods for their disposal have by then been identified.

Mr. Lidington

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reasons the Environment Agency's press statement of 6 October 2003 about the decommissioning of United States ships did not refer to the Agency's earlier advice that the ships should not sail from America. [137768]

Mr. Morley

The Environment Agency's 6 October press release was issued in response to specific statements made by Friends of the Earth about its legal challenge to the Agency. It was also based on the Agency's understanding of the legal situation at that time.

Gregory Barker

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been carried out of the(a) economic and (b) environmental impact of the arrival of the ships due to arrive from the United States for dismantling by Able UK. [138064]

Mr. Morley

The information requested is as follows: on the licence, would cause likely significant effect on the SPA and Ramsar site, alone, or in combination with other plans or projects.

Gregory Barker

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what powers Government Ministers have to prevent ships entering United Kingdom waters; and on what occasions they have used these powers. [138065]

Mr. Jamieson

I have been asked to reply.

Powers of intervention, including the power to direct a ship to leave UK waters, may only be exercised where a ship is already in UK waters. Such powers may be exercised only where it is considered necessary for the purpose of securing the safety of the ships or other ships; the safety of persons or property; or preventing or reducing significant pollution.